


I Know I'm Not Alone

by Hekmugi



Category: Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:33:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23011027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hekmugi/pseuds/Hekmugi
Summary: 나뭇가지의 잎, 눈처럼 내려. 하늘이 어둡고, 매서운 바람 불어.작은 검객이, 어디 갔어? 용감한 검객이, 돌아오세요."The branch's leaves, they fall like snow.The sky is dark, and a bitter wind blows.""Little swordsman, where did you go? Brave swordsman, please come back."Thank you for reading.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 47





	I Know I'm Not Alone

“Get up!”

The cat groaned, putting a paw to his forehead as his apprentice shouted into his ears. His eyes flicked open, chasing away the lingering whispers of a dream and replacing his vision with the dull shadows of their bedroom.

“You’re an early riser, aren’t ‘ya?” the hero remarked.

“What are you talking about?” Adorabat cocked her head. “It’s already 6 A.M.!”

“That so?” the cat mumbled. “I guess we’d better start then... Be a dear and get the dojo prepped, would ‘ya?”

“Sure thing, Mao!” the bat called, fluttering out of the room.

Mao stepped out of bed, stretching out his aching joints as he went through his mental preparations for the day. From where he stood he could hear the erecting of multiple wooden pillars, along with the crashing sounds of multiple weapons being dumped onto the floor.

  
“Be careful with those,” the cat called out, “or I’ll make you sharpen all of them again!”

“Don’t worry, Mao!” she called back. 

The cheery response soothed the beginning of his morning grumpiness that was all too easy to slip into. He couldn’t help but smile at the immediate, boundless enthusiasm that his apprentice exhibited.

Feeling adequately limbered, the hero made his way to the dojo. The door was left ajar by his apprentice, and as he pushed it aside he saw her making her final preparations. She loaded several smoke bombs into her peg leg, which had been augmented to fire them at the twitch of her leg muscles. This allowed her to surprise enemies more easily, along with freeing up her wings for weaponry.

“Alright, Adorabat! We’re going to work on your ability to sense danger, even when your senses are dulled. You think you’re up for that?”

“I’m up for anything!” she shot back, holding a victorious wing in the air.

Sensing a learning opportunity, Mao reached over and picked up a bamboo stick from the floor. Without warning, he thrust the pole towards the bat’s wing. Seeing her eyes widen, he raised an eyebrow as he studied her reaction. The moments ticked past, and right as the pole began to close in on her, he saw her momentary shock tick over into a determined look. With a slight bend of her wing, she grasped the middle of the pole as it shot past her, stopping it mid-flight. She gave it a quick, celebratory twirling as she transferred it between her wings.

“I got it!” She said, swinging the pole around like a toy.

Mao nodded his head. “Very good! You’re getting better every day.”

“I learned from the best!” She said, transitioning her grip into a defensive stance.

“You learned well,” Mao concluded, reaching for a lever on the wall, “but there’s always room for improvement.”

As he pulled the lever, multiple spiked poles dropped from the ceiling. Motors began to turn from within the floor and ceiling, and the poles began to spin. The spikes began their own motions, jutting in and out in haphazard motions. Adorabat found herself surrounded, but she was able to weave and dodge out of the way of the impending spikes with ease.

  
“Not disoriented?” Mao asked.

“Not at all! This is too easy!” Adorabat called back. She giggled as she tapped the pole against the jutting spikes, creating a cacophonous, hollow sound.

“That’s good, because this is just the warm-up!”

Another lever was pulled, and a ring of smoke bombs fell to the ground all around the bat. The simultaneous detonations cast the dojo in an impenetrable haze, like dense fog in a bay.

Squinting, Mao tried to make out the shadow of the bat from within the multitude of thrusting, jagged monoliths. He saw her figure, continuing to dodge, but she had ceased giggling. Her instincts took over, and her playful optimism transformed into a calm determination. The tapping of bamboo on metal became less haphazardous, now following a rough pattern as she learned the moves of the individual obstacles and charted a path through them. It was good training to be able to read an enemy, but real life was rarely so simple.

“You ready for the next level?”

A couple seconds of relative silence passed.

“Do it!”

Mao nodded his head, taking in a deep breath as he felt a twinge of anxiety for the girl’s performance. He chased his thoughts away with the reassurance that the bat knew herself better than he ever could. If she thought she was ready, then she must be ready.

The lever clicked downwards, and the poles began to mobilize along tracks in the floor. They jerked forwards, then backwards, and at some points remained stationary for random amounts of time. The safe course and readable motions were swiftly done away with, becoming a nightmare of metal that would overwhelm most.

The smoke began to clear, becoming less of a grey blanket and more of a moderate haze. The sun began to shine through, revealing the clear figure of Adorabat as she zipped around. She transitioned the pole between her wings as she flapped, staying mobile and changing her altitude as new threats emerged. The pole never left her wing’s reach as she continued her dance, beads of sweat spraying from her face as her eyes hardly blinked. The chipping of bamboo was audible from where Mao stood, and he watched as the once sturdy pole degraded into little more than the old chew toy of some kind of monster.

The bat’s moves became erratic, exhaustion beginning to set in as the course continued. Dodges were replaced with near misses, and she almost lost her sense of balance as she tried to continue juggling the pole in the air.

“Almost…” Mao said, hovering his paw above the override. The last wisps of smoke were drifting away in the wind, signaling the end of the exercise. A few more seconds of dauntless defense and the training would be successful.

Adorabat began to shout, making savage cries as she struck at the oncoming spikes with renewed fervor. Her voice became feral, yelling like she was fighting a real opponent with a deadly weapon. The chipped bamboo began to splinter, falling into halves, then fourths, until she wielded a dagger-sized strip in a wing.

“That’s enough!” Mao shouted, pressing the lever. At once, the obstacle course ceased its operations. Spikes hung in midair as the motors screeched to a halt, leaving Adorabat as the only moving figure among them. She gasped for breath as she controlled her landing, dropping the remnants of the bamboo stick by her side.

“How’d… I do?” she gasped out, supporting herself against one of the ground-based poles.

“You did incredible!” Mao shouted back, crossing the distance between them. She looked up at him, squinting as he brought his arms around her head. She plopped her wings against his side as he lifted her up, shaking her around in a bear hug. “I knew you could do it!”

Adorabat let out an airy giggle. “T-thanks, Mao…” she coughed, slouching against his chest. “Can I go wash up now?”   
  


The hero released his grip, lowering her to the floor. “Of course, of course! I’ll go make us some breakfast.”

“I appreciate it…” she called, stumbling towards the restroom with drooping wings.

* * *

As Adorabat fluttered into the living room, a fresh red hero’s cape draped around her neck, Mao tossed a burrito at her. Catching it in midair, she carried it in her mouth as she flopped onto the couch. Sinking into the old indents, she slumped her legs over the cushions and felt for the remote.

“Now be careful with that, it’s hot.” Mao warned.

Adorabat mumbled an indecipherable reply as she found the remote. Flicking the TV on, she took the burrito in two wings, nibbling at it while she caught up on her morning programs. Mao followed behind her, settling onto the sofa with a sigh as he sipped from a cup of coffee.

“No breakfast for you?” Adorabat asked, looking up from her burrito.

“I’m not much of a morning eater, y’know.” Mao replied, taking another sip.

“Don’t you always say breakfast is the most important meal of the day?” She said, a bit of playful nagging creeping into her voice.

Mao hid his face in his cup. “Yes, when you’re  _ growing _ , it’s the most important. When you get older you can get away with skipping a meal here and there.”

“If you need me to go shopping, I can pick up some stuff.” Adorabat said, looking towards the kitchen. The still-open cupboard betrayed her suspicion. It was destitute, with only a couple boxes of stale cereal within.

  
Mao brushed off the comment. “It’s fine, I was going to go into town anyway. I have some stuff to pick up.”

Adorabat shrugged, making headway on the burrito as its innards cooled. The two of them sat in silence, letting the dull tones of the television distract them as they reclined. The morning was still young, so they wouldn’t have anything pressing to take care of for several hours. School was out for Adorabat as well, so it was a welcome vacation.

For as long as it lasted, that is. Their morning cool-down was cut short by the all-too-familiar siren of the monster alarm going off. They both turned to it, watching the scarlet lights spinning clockwise against the back wall. Giving a glance at one another, Adorabat stuffed the last of her burrito in her mouth as Mao downed the last of his coffee. A flick of a switch and the television was off.

Dropping to the basement, Adorabat grabbed her helmet from the wall. Clicking the straps into place, she mounted the aerocycle with Mao right behind her. The button for the garage door was activated, and the two of them set out for the village.

* * *

Sweetiepies scrambled from falling rafters and shattering tiles as half of a building was crushed under the tail of a massive creature, standing twice as tall as the homes of the district. The fearsome reptilian beast scanned the streets, ignoring the fleeing civilians in favor of the abandoned food stalls. With hungry, gaping maw it splattered pastry and confectionery in all directions, devouring stall after stall with an insatiable appetite. Muffins looked on in horror, tears streaming down her face as she watched her work go to ruin.

“I spent all night baking that!” she cried, falling to her knees.

  
The monster turned to another cart, dropping the remains of its most recent meal to the earth as it opened its mouth. The wood and metal debris careened towards the unaware Muffins, about to crush her under the weight of the jagged materials.

“Look out!” Adorabat screamed, headbutting the baker out of the way as the pieces shattered against the cobblestone street. The two of them rolled over one another, colliding against the wall of a home.

“Ow…” Muffins groaned, feeling her forehead for a moment before focusing on the blue bat on top of her.

“Adorabat! Oh thank the heavens you’re here!” Muffins gave her a quick hug. “That beast is eating all my stuff! Please stop it!”

Adorabat gave her a nod, thrusting her helmet off as she moved to engage.

“Hey, ugly!” she called out, zipping arounds its head. “Look over here!”

The monster looked at her for a moment before turning back to the remaining street carts, snorting at the bat with disinterest.

Glaring at the monster, Adorabat raised her peg leg and fired a smoke bomb at its face. The bomb exploded right below its nose, causing it to rear back. It coughed and sputtered as it tripped over itself, losing its bearings under the sudden, suffocating haze. As it recovered, it returned its attention to Adorabat with flaring nostrils and barred teeth.

  
“That got your attention!” she beamed.

The monster roared at her, sweeping its tail in the air towards the young hero. She dodged out of the way, watching the tail arc into another house. The house exploded into splinters from the force of the blow, causing the street below to rumble.

“Looks like I made ‘ya angry!” Adorabat said, her voice dripping with a familiar confidence. The monster turned to face her, digging its feet into the ground as it prepared to charge.

“Mao, it’s coming!” Adorabat shouted as she began to fly away from the monster. It gave chase, crashing its way through the streets as it let out another screech at the bat. Being vastly larger than her, it was able to close the distance with great speed. The fluttering red cloth of Adorabat’s cape flapped within meters of the monster’s maw as it continued its relentless pursuit, ignorant of the rest of the world.

And that was exactly what they had counted on.

Crossing through the central plaza, the monster failed to notice the sizable fountain in the middle of the square. As it connected with the impressive structure, it lost its balance. The ground quaked as the monster crashed against the ground, stabbing itself against the metal crown of the king’s statue in the process.

“Now!” Adorabat shouted, watching the recoiling monster from above.

The aerocycle revved, and the hero mounting it brandished his blade. The golden metal gleamed in the morning light, and cast a yellow blur behind him as he hit the gas pedal. He launched himself at the monster, kicking the bike into high gear as it sent a mighty cloud of dust behind it. His whiskers flopped behind him as he prepared his strike, gripping the bike with his thighs as he took his sword in both hands.

“You’re outta here!” Mao cried, swinging the broad edge of his sword like a baseball bat against the monster’s stomach. The creature rocketed into the air from the force of the blow, clearing the wall of the town’s edge and arcing over a mile into the thick forest. The resulting thud was dull from the town’s square, and a small plume of dust rose from among the trees.

The aerocycle screeched to a halt as Mao turned it hard, leaving a thick indent of tire treads against the stone. No sooner had they finished their plan when the Sweetiepies began to cheer for the heroes, emerging from their hiding places.

“We did it, Mao!” Adorabat cried, hovering at eye-level.

  
The hero gave her a smile, sheathing his sword. “Indeed we did, Adorabat. Indeed we did.”

  
A crowd formed around them, praising the heroes for another successful operation. Mao held his hands up to quiet the crowd down, insisting that they were just doing their jobs as Adorabat gave high-fives and thanked everyone for their support. The humble duo managed to send the crowd back to their normal business, now chatting happily amongst one another as they shared the sights they saw of the battle that was witnessed.

Mao let out a sigh, putting his paws on his hips. “Man, this day started out pretty exciting…”

“Yeah,” Adorabat nodded, “but at least we have an excuse to get those chores out of the way now. I could use something other than a breakfast burrito.”

“I thought you liked those.” Mao smiled at her.

“Not for three days in a row, silly!” Adorabat rolled her eyes playfully.

Mao nodded. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

* * *

The chores ended up taking most of the day. The duo knocked out their tasks one by one - checking in on townspeople and helping out with repairs as best they could before ending the afternoon with the shopping they originally intended to do. They arrived at home with bags of food, and after parking the bike they set out putting it all away.

As the last of the bags were put away, Mao grabbed a bag that remained on the table and looked at the contents. He smiled down at them, taking both of the straps in a paw as he set it to his side.

“Adorabat,” he called, “let’s go pay him a visit.”

* * *

The sun was already hanging low over the horizon, turning the sunlight a burnt orange color as a cool wind swept the long grass in all directions. The pair mounted the top of the hill, making their way to their final destination.

“Hey,” Mao said, plopping the bag by his side, “sorry we’re late.”

Adorabat took a seat next to him.

“We had another run-in with a monster today,” Mao let out a short chuckle, “you never told me that this place saw so much action!”

He swallowed.

“But, then again, I suppose I never really asked, did I?”

The polished marble stared back at him.

Mao sighed.

“There’s a lot of things I never asked about,” he took in a shaky breath, “and a lot of things I left unsaid. I’d do anything to be able to tell you what I should have told you the last time we met.”

Adorabat put a wing on Shin’s back, giving him a sad smile as he glanced at her.

“I guess I always thought… Pushing you to make your own legend by comparing you to your sisters was the best method. I mean, it worked for me, y’know? Well…” he returned his gaze to Adorabat. “I guess it didn’t. I was a rotten father, and I never got to tell you how much I cared about you. How much I loved you. Or… How much I should have loved you.”

Tears began to well in his eyes, and he blinked them away as he reached for the bag.

“I got you a present.” Shin said, setting a folded, duck-patterned shirt in front of the stone. “Your mother told me you liked this show when you were younger. I guess I’m a little late with the gift, but…”

  
He put a finger to his mouth, whimpering as he tried to regain his composure. 

After sitting still for a time, he reached back into the bag, pulling out a small wooden plank and two sticks. He took a lighter from his pocket, lighting the tips of the incense. The sweet smoke drifted from the ends, resting in the divots.

“Mao Mao, my son,” he let out a shuddering exhale, kneeling his forehead to the ground, “I hope you can forgive me.”

Shin retained his bow, sobbing into the ground as he hid his face from the fading sunlight. The golden rays reflected off of the inscription on the blocks, characters spelling out his son’s name above a clear outline of his face.

Eventually, Shin returned to his knees, staring at the gravestone with blurry eyes. The incense burned low, sending fleeting wisps in the space between the two of them. He opened his mouth, the edges quivering as he pressed himself into a song.

“ _ Namugaji-ae ib, nun-chorom naeryo. Hanuli odubko, maesoun barram bulo.” _

_ “chaggun gomgaeki, odi-” _ -he paused, a choking sob escaping his mouth- “ _ odi gasso?” _

He bowed his head low, sobbing the final lyric in a whisper.

_ “younggam-han gomgaeki, dolaosaeo.” _

* * *

“Hey, Mao Mao.” Adorabat smiled at the grave. “It’s nice visiting you again.”

She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes.

“It’s been… Kinda hard to keep going without you, but it’s getting a little easier. Is that bad to say? Your dad is taking over your role as sheriff until he thinks I’m ready to step in.” 

She looked to the side, rubbing her wings together.

“After you... You know, Badgerclops ran away. He said he couldn’t deal with the bad memories here anymore… But I couldn’t go anywhere, you know? It’s not what you would have wanted.... And this is my home. It’s like you said, ‘A hero does what’s right, even if it crushes them inside’, right?”

“So even though it hurt after you left, I kept going. I’m still training to become a hero like I always said. But it’s okay because I know I’m not alone. Not just with your dad but… I can still feel you watching over me. When I’m training, or when I’m getting in bed at night, I still feel your presence in the room. I don’t know if you’re haunting me but… I appreciate it.”

She pulled out a piece of paper from under her cape, setting it on the stone.

“I still have the pictures I drew of us from a couple months ago. This one’s my favorite, so I thought you should have it. In case you forget what we look like.”

She smiled at the grave, tears falling from her face.

“Don’t worry about us, or the valley, okay? We’ll take care of it now. I just hope I get to see you again some day.”

She took a step back, watching the last edge of the sun ducking under the horizon.

“It’s getting kinda late though, so I should probably go home. Until next time.”

She took to the air, hovering for a second as she stared at the drawing she had laid down. A victorious warrior-cat with a golden sword in one hand cradled the diminutive bat in the other, both of them beaming at one another.

“I love you, Mao Mao!”

**Author's Note:**

> 나뭇가지의 잎, 눈처럼 내려. 하늘이 어둡고, 매서운 바람 불어.  
> 작은 검객이, 어디 갔어? 용감한 검객이, 돌아오세요.
> 
> "The branch's leaves, they fall like snow.The sky is dark, and a bitter wind blows."  
> "Little swordsman, where did you go? Brave swordsman, please come back."
> 
> Thank you for reading.


End file.
